


What a Difference a Sandwich Makes

by Illyrias_Acolyte



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Jurassic Park (Movies)
Genre: Crack Crossover, Crossover, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2015-02-03
Packaged: 2018-03-10 09:40:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3285623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illyrias_Acolyte/pseuds/Illyrias_Acolyte
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hot off the heels of her latest failure, Queen Beryl hatches a plan to gather energy from a group of archaeologists in Montana, and finds there something that she least suspects: friendship. </p><p>Prompted by, but not officially part of, Rarely Written 2015.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What a Difference a Sandwich Makes

Queen Beryl knelt in front of the altar as the dark, coppery smoke billowed around her body. She would never admit it to her subordinates, never, but Metalia-sama’s massive shrine turned her stomach in knots. Metalia-sama had so much power, so much strength, and if Beryl could free her, she could get revenge on the disgusting Earthlings, but then, who would deal with Metalia-sama? She pushed the thoughts out of her mind as a dark shadow materialized before her, undulating and swirling in its crystal prison. 

“Beryl,” boomed the voice from the crystal. “Have you found a way to harvest energy from the people of Earth yet?” 

“I am embarrassed to point out a glaring error in our strategy, Metalia-sama,” Beryl said as she bowed her head low. “We have been so focused on our hunt for Princess Serenity that we neglected to realize how often the Sailor Scouts have thwarted our plans.” 

“I assure you, Beryl, that has not escaped my notice.” 

“Of course, Metalia-sama,” Beryl said, cursing herself for the poor phrasing. “I simply mean that we would have more success if we expanded our search away from Japan. Japan is where the Sailor Scouts are located, so we must simply move out of Japan, somewhere as far away from the Sailor Scouts as possible.” 

“Then how will we find the Silver Crystal?” 

“My general Zoisite is taking care of that while we speak. She is conducting the hunt for the seven rainbow crystals, and Kunzite is helping as well. This means that I must undertake this mission personally. I will be happy to do so for the glory of the Dark Kingdom.” 

“Very well,” Metalia-sama replied. “Where are you planning to search for energy?” 

“There is a group of graduate students in Snakewater, Montana, Metalia-sama,” Beryl said. “Graduate students expend a great deal of energy in pursuit of an award called ‘degree’, and it takes them years to complete it. I will test this theory by visiting a dig site in Montana, on the opposite side of the world from Princess Serenity, and we shall see if this plan is a success. I will disguise myself as Dr. Morgan, and I will gather their energy for you.” 

“Very well, Beryl, but do not fail me again,” Metalia-sama replied. “I do not tolerate failure from my subordinates. Succeed, and you will be rewarded. Fail me again, and I will not be happy.” 

“I will not fail, Metalia-sama,” Beryl said. She rose to her feet with the help of her staff as she teleported away. 

***

Earth was a strange place. The last time Beryl visited had not gone well, to say the least. Her meeting with Endymion had resulted in the eradication of the Moon Kingdom and the formation of the Dark Kingdom, her lonely domain. Last she remembered, Earth had been lavishly decorated and lush, and swarming with beautiful people and things. It had been her home. 

Nothing could have contrasted more starkly than the desert which lay before her eyes now. The sand stretched on in all directions, and save for a cluster of tents and the strange machines which Jedite had referred to as “computers”, it was bare. Far from Beryl’s normal form-fitting purple gown, the light khaki shorts, jacket, and matching hat she wore now made her feel plain and invisible. She reassured herself that no one would realize that she was secretly an evil monarch trying to take over the world, as humans were much more foolish than they had been in her time, but she would make an effort to be even more human. 

She strutted along the sand dunes towards the human encampment and the first person she saw. It was a young woman, barely a decade older than those horrid Sailor Scouts, dressed in a sand-stained jean jacket and pants. She was peeling a banana. Beryl cleared her throat, and the woman looked up at her. 

“I have come to volunteer my services for the dig,” Beryl said. “I heard that you need able bodies to dig in the sand, and I wish to help.” 

“Okay,” the woman said. She eyed Beryl skeptically before taking a bite of her banana. “What’s your name?”

“I am called… Doctor Morgan.”

“Nice to meet you,” she said around a mouthful of banana. She reached out her other hand and offered it to Beryl, who stared at it for a moment before recalling the human gesture known as a “handshake”. “What’s your first name?” 

“My first name is also Morgan.” 

“Morgan Morgan?” the woman said as she raised an eyebrow. Beryl nodded. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Morgan Morgan. Can I just use one Morgan? Two seems awfully formal.” 

“One Morgan is fine, thank you,” Beryl said, and she finally shook hands with the woman. 

“I’m Dr. Sattler,” she said. “But you can call me Ellie. What did you get your doctorate in?” 

“I study, history,” Beryl replied, unsure what kind of reply would be most believable. Ellie did not appear phased, and merely shifted her weight. 

“Oh yeah? What period?” 

“Ancient history.” 

“Around the time of the dinosaurs?” Ellie’s eyes twinkled playfully. 

“Just so,” Beryl said. 

“Well, Morgan,” Ellie said as she finished her banana. “You arrived just in time to join me for lunch. We just finished uncovering a pretty exciting velociraptor skeleton. You have to see it.” She pulled the hair tie out of her bun and shook her sandy, shoulder-length hair out, showering her back with grains of sand. Beryl flinched. How anyone could allow themselves to become covered with such filth, she couldn’t fathom, and Beryl hoped her disguise would protect her from such trash. 

She followed Ellie down to the nearest tent where several other humans were gathered, hunched over a table. On top of the table lay a collection of sandwiches, wrapped up in plastic. Beryl sniffed and turned her nose up. She could simply live off energy gathered from other humans, and did not need to partake in such a mortal practice. Ellie bounded over to the table as the last of the sandwiches was being taken. She huffed. 

“What’s the matter?” another man asked as he took a bite out of his sandwich. He was rugged and dusty, and wore a fedora with a wide brim to keep the sun out of his eyes. 

“We’ve got a new volunteer,” Ellie said, throwing a lazy arm in Beryl’s direction. “Dr. Morgan Morgan.” 

“Morgan Morgan?” the man said as he clutched his sandwich. “What kind of name is Morgan Morgan?” Ellie rolled her eyes and leaned in close. 

“She’s standing right there,” Ellie said, cocking her head in Beryl’s direction. “Honestly, Alan, you can be so dense sometimes.” The man looked at Beryl and nodded curtly at her before he shuffled away towards the dig. 

“Pay no attention to Dr. Grant,” Ellie said with a shrug. “He’s just antsy because we’re supposed to be getting a visit from our boss sometime this week. He’s been cutting our funding every year, and now we’re all worried he might cancel the project entirely.” 

“And that’s bad.” 

“That’s awful,” Ellie answered. “Mr. Hammond doesn’t realize what important work we’re doing here. We’re researching the creatures that used to live in these parts. The more we understand them, the more we can understand ourselves. The people on top just don’t understand sometimes. Is your boss like that?” 

“She can be very demanding,” Beryl admitted. “She has been cutting back my funding as well. I am working with a fraction of the resources my organization once possessed.”

“We’re dealing with the exact same problem,” Ellie said as she slumped down into a chair. Beryl lowered herself down regally and clasped her hands in her lap. “You can’t do good work without the proper resources.” 

“Quite so,” Beryl said. She felt her posture slip a bit. “I don’t see how I’m expected to get the energy from the people of Japan without enough power.” Ellie’s face crinkled up in confusion. “Er, that is to say, my Japanese students are not terribly energetic in their studies, and sometimes feel I lack the proper authority to discipline them.”

“Oh,” Ellie replied thoughtfully. “That makes a lot more sense.” She stared at the sandwich in her hands and, after a few seconds of pondering, tossed it at Beryl. Beryl caught it with as much grace and poise as she could muster, and turned the thing over in her hands. 

“What is this for?” 

“It’s for eating,” Ellie said with a smirk. “You open your mouth, and then put the sandwich in, and-” She stopped as she noticed Beryl glancing at her. “I already had my banana. We ordered a sandwich for everyone at the dig site, and since you weren’t here, we didn’t order you one. You can have mine.” Beryl gazed down at the hunk of bread and meat sealed within see-through plastic as though it were made of gold before holding it back out to the other woman. 

“I cannot accept it. I do not have the necessary funds to pay for it.” 

“Nonsense,” Ellie said, swiping the request away with her hand. “It’s already been paid for. If you don’t eat it it’s just going to get thrown out. You were a grad student once, I’m sure. You must remember how important free food is.” 

Beryl looked back down at the sandwich as she pulled it back towards her body. She peeled back the saran wrap and sunk her teeth into the sandwich, tasting real food for the first time in millennia. Her grateful tastebuds sent the signals to her brain as she forgot her normal queenlike regality and wolfed the sandwich down. 

“Uh, you’re welcome.” Ellie’s voice cut through Beryl’s euphoria. Beryl stopped eating and looked up at Ellie before she realized that the human had been staring at her for the past several seconds while she had been eating. “Hungry?” 

“Famished,” Beryl answered. “I hadn’t realized how much I had missed real food.”

“If this is real food, then I’d hate to see what you’ve been eating,” Ellie said. 

“Thank you.” 

“It’s my pleasure, Morgan.” 

“No really, thank you,” Beryl said. “This means a great deal to me.”

“It’s just basic human decency.” 

“Still, I appreciate it,” Beryl said as she folded the saran wrap neatly before placing it on the table. “It’s more than most people show me these days.” 

“I’m sorry to hear,” Ellie said. “Well, you can expect that to change starting right now. We take care of our volunteers on our digs. Alan and I usually buy lunch for the volunteers once a week, but the department has some money for food as well.” 

“Thank you again,” Beryl said, fighting down the gratefulness rising up in her stomach. 

“It’s no trouble, really,” Ellie said. “Well, I should probably get back to work. Hey, meet me over by the computer station in ten. We’ve got some new technology that you simply have to see, and I can introduce you to Alan.” 

“That sounds lovely,” Beryl said. “I would love to attend.” That last part was even true. She did want to stay here with the nice woman and her friendly smile and her sandwiches, but Metalia-sama would know. Metalia-sama would find this dig site and there would be no more sandwiches for anyone. If Metalia-sama came here, Dr. Ellie Sattler wouldn’t stand a chance against her. There was only one option available to Beryl now. 

***

“Metalia-sama, I am afraid I have dire news to report.” Though it felt good to be out of her disguise and dressed like herself again, Beryl felt a jolt of nervousness run down her spine as she anticipated Metalia-sama’s response. 

“You have failed me again, Beryl?” Metalia-sama roared. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised: your incompetence is eclipsed only by that of your subordinates.” 

“Many apologies, Metalia-sama,” Beryl said, bowing her head to the floor. She could still taste the sandwich on her tongue, but it was a great deal more faint now than it had been earlier. “My project was not successful. The humans of Montana have no more energy to spare for our use. I have collected a small supply of energy from them that we can hopefully use to sustain us for a bit longer.” 

“Your efforts are paltry, but appreciated, Beryl,” Metalia-sama replied. “Give me the necessary energy.” Beryl held up her hand and winced as bluish-gray tendrils of her own energy were sucked from her body. She let Metalia-sama have as much as she could bear before cutting off the link between them. She felt faint, but fought hard not to let it show. 

“This meager energy is all I was able to get from those fools,” she said. “We will be better off searching for energy in a large city like Tokyo. I understand now why we concentrated so much time and effort on a single city that is booming with people. We need not concern ourselves with such small fish. Once we have established our foothold on Earth and consolidated our power, we will dominate the humans, but until then, our efforts will be best spent elsewhere.” 

“Very well, Beryl,” Metalia-sama replied. “I will leave the Dark Kingdom under your leadership. But do not fail me again. You are trying my patience.” Metalia-sama vanished with a puff of black smoke, and Queen Beryl rose to her feet. She would rouse her forces and defeat the Sailor Scouts once and for all, but she would leave some of the humans be, for now. Humans with kindness in their hearts, humans who shared with her when she didn’t deserve it. Maybe some humans weren’t so bad after all.


End file.
